At present chemotherapeutic agents are widely used for treatment of mastitis in animals and humans, antibiotics, penicillin and streptomycin being the most commonly applied drugs (81 percent).
A variety of medicinal compositions are currently known for treatment of mastitis in animals, the compositions being based on antibiotics and incorporating an oleaginous base, prednisolone, a foaming agent, and a propellant. However, application of said agents is inadequately efficient. Treatment of mastitis with antibiotics-based drugs is causative of side effects and gastrointestinal disorders, and affects an organism's resistive power. Besides, meat and milk of affected animals contain residual quantities of medicinal substances used in treatment of mastitis.
Known in the modern medical practice is the use, as an agent for treatment of mastitis, of ichthammol (an ammonium salt of sulfo acids of shale oil) (cf. Medicinal agents and biopreparations in fur breeding, A Handbook, by F. G. Nabiyev, A. A. Dragunov, and R. G. Rakhmatullin. 1986, Agropromizdat Publishers, Moscow, pp. 110-111; Medicinal agents in veterinary medicine, by D. K. Cherviakov, P. D. Yevdokimov, and A. S. Vishker, 1970, Kolos Publishers, Moscow, p. 300 (in Russian).
Ichthammol features an antimicrobial, antipyretic, locally anesthetic and keratolytic action, its main active principles being sulfur and some aromatic substances. The drug is applied as a 10- to 30-percent ointment or 10- to 20-percent alcoholic solutions. Ichthammol ointment is applied to the animal's udder affected by mastitis, along with fats or in a glycerol solution. However, ichthammol ointment is a low-efficacious drug, since it is poorly absorbable by the tissue being treated the ointment is hard to penetrate into tissue especially its deeply seated layers. The ointment is most commonly applied in combination with some other therapeutic substances.